The Perfect Water Temp For...Everything!

We use water a hundred times a day in dozens of different ways, but when it comes to temperature, it's not always so obvious what's best. We dove into the research and floated our questions to the pros to find out once and for all when it's time to turn up the heat—and when it's time to chill.

Check out 15 times when tweaking the water temp can really pay off.

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Showering

Sure, a hot shower can feel great, but it's not doing your skin any favors. Standing under a scalding stream can strip the natural oils from your skin, leaving it dry and vulnerable to cracking, especially in the winter. "Use lukewarm to warm water—not overly hot, or you'll prematurely dry out your skin," says Ellen Sackoff, founder of Cornelia beauty products.

Washing your face should likewise be done with tepid water. "A slightly cooler rinse after washing can help close the pores but never, never cold water. Extremes will only dry your skin," she says.

Just as with your skin, warm water is the way to go for cleaning hair. Most shampoo works best at not-too-hot, not-too-cold temps. "Hot water is damaging to skin and hair, so normal warm water is always recommended," says Kevin Mancuso, the creative director for Nexxus. If you've been piling on the products and need a deeper clean, Mancuso recommends a deep-cleansing shampoo—but keep the water warm, not hot. (Find out if you're making any of these 6 shampooing mistakes.)

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Brushing your teeth

Here's something to brighten your grin: You can brush your pearly whites in whatever temp feels best to you. In fact, none of the published reviews of the science of oral hygiene has identified the temperature of the water as a subject of concern, so go ahead and scrub with whatever temp floats your boat.

If you tend to scrub your produce in cold water—hey, it seems fresher that way, right?—it's time to rethink that. "As a general rule, don't wash with water that's much warmer or colder than your produce," says Marisa Bunning, assistant professor and extension food safety specialist at Colorado State University. "Too-warm water will speed up the wilting process—especially with strawberries and delicate fruits—but too-cold water can cause minute cracks to form in the skin, driving water and bacteria into the fruit, not out." Your best bet: Give produce a good dousing in tepid water straight from the tap.

Roll up your sleeves and pull on your rubber gloves, because dishwashing temperatures should be hotter than comfortable for bare skin—at least 120 degrees F, say housekeeping experts. Hot water breaks up grease and kills microorganisms before they have a chance to multiply. And rinsing temps should be even higher as hotter water dries more quickly, which means less time for breeding bacteria to take hold. Added benefit? The hot temps will help your dishes dry spot- and streak-free, too.

Whether it's a Bird of Paradise or a snowdrop plant, the rule when watering plants is simple: "Room temperature is best for indoor plants," says Angie McManus, the gardening expert at KentuckyLiving.com. Too hot water can cause root damage, plant shock, and possibly even kill your plants. Water that's too cold could trigger dormancy, risking the loss of all your verdant vegetation.

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Mopping wood floors

There’s no official specification regarding water temperature for cleaning, says Frank Kroupa, technical education specialist of the National Wood Flooring Association, but floors should generally be kept between 60 and 80 degrees F to prevent cracking and warping—and the same would apply to the water you use for cleaning. Most importantly, use water sparingly and dry your floors as thoroughly as possible to keep wood happy.

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Baking bread

If you're like us, you probably don't have time to bake bread regularly, so you might be a little rusty on the basics. Here's a refresh: For the best bread, activate your yeast in 120 to 130-degree F water. Higher than 130 will kill the yeast. Lower than 120, and the yeast will produce an amino acid called glutathione, which will make your dough sticky and tough to work with. (Never baked bread before? Give it a shot with our Honey Whole Wheat Mini Loaves. Yum!)

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Making pastry

Whoever said "easy as pie" obviously never scraped the ruined remains of a sticky crust off a countertop, or chewed through a crust the texture of leather...and you don’t have to either. The secret? Keep all your ingredients—even the flour, but especially the water—ice-cold. Cold dough means the fat stays in little globs and melts only during baking, which gives the dough a perfect flaky texture.

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Drinking

While conflicting theories have floated about for years as to the best temperature for drinking H2O, here's the one that holds the most water: Chill out! Cold water passes through your stomach faster, which means your intestines absorb it quicker and you’ll rehydrate quicker. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, water and other drinks should be between 50 and 72 degrees F for optimal hydration.

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Making coffee

No brewing controversy here: Experts agree that the best water temperature to extract all the coffee goodness without the bitterness is between 198 and 205 degrees F. "Colder water will leave your coffee flat and under-extracted, while water that's too hot will result in a more bitter taste than optimal," said Joseph DeRupo, spokesperson for the National Coffee Association.

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Brewing tea

It all depends on what kind you're brewing, says Peter Goggi, executive vice president of the Tea Association of the USA. Black teas—ceylon, darjeeling, and lapsang souchong, for example—are best brewed with boiling water, straight from kettle to cup. The others—oolong, white, and green teas—are best brewed "off the boil," meaning that the water is given a few minutes to cool before you brew (the hotter the water, the stronger the tea).

When it comes time to bathe our furry friends, it's best to let your own comfort be the guide, says veterinarian Katharine Hillestad, DVM, veterinary services manager with Drs. Fosters and Smith. "If it's comfortable on your skin, it should be comfortable for them," she says.

Two important tips: use a shampoo that is designated for dogs—they have a different skin pH than humans. And when you're done lathering, "Rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse. Then rinse again," she says. The final rinse can be just a little bit cooler to help close up the hair cuticles and give your dog a glossy shine.

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Thawing meat

Had your heart set on chicken, but forgot to take it out of the freezer? You can thaw it quickly (and safely) in cold (50 to 55 degree F) tap water, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Place your poultry in an airtight bag and submerge it completely, changing the water every 30 minutes so it continues to thaw. And it shouldn’t take long: A pound of meat may thaw in an hour or less, while a 3- to 4-pound chicken could be ready to cook in 2 to 3 hours.

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Laundering linen

Washing all your whites in hot? You might be short-sheeting the life of your bedding. Made to be gentle on skin, the delicate fabrics that make up most sheets aren’t typically built to stand up to high temps, and hot water can cause sheets to thin and fade. Instead, wash your sheets alone in cold water to preserve the fabric. Another perk to using cooler H2O? Cold water is best for preventing the kinds of stains that sheets are most apt to get (and cooler temps save a lot of energy, too!).

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